ለ አእምሮ / Le'Aimero ለ አእምሮ የካቲት 2006 / February 2014/ እትም፣ ቅጽ 2 ቁጥር-07 | Page 45

ያካባቢያችን ዕዳ፥እጣ ጣጣና መዓት (ስለ ኤርትራዊያን ስደት ጥናት ) Published February 28, 2014 A Case Study of the Eritrean Migration System ያካባቢያችን ዕዳ እጣ ጣጣና መዓት (ስለ ኤርትራዊያን ስደት ጥናት ) * A Case Study of the Eritrean Migration System from Eritrea to Israel Karen Jacobsen, Sara Robinson and Laurie Lijnders 1) * Each month thousands of men, women, and children flee Eritrea as a result of grave violations of human rights committed by the Eritrean government. Political oppression and religious persecution have led to the imprisonment or disappearance of thousands of citizens, as well as mass flight. Travelling via Sudan and Egypt, 36,000 Eritreans have made their way to Israel over the past six years. Most have gone through a well-organized network of people smugglers and human traffickers. Many initially contacted smugglers but were later deceived, held hostage for large ransoms, and physically abused. Others had no intention to come to Israel and were kidnapped in East Sudan to then be sold to Sinai traffickers who also abused them while they were held hostage for ransom. For the last two years, Israeli, Egyptian, and international human rights organizations have reported that increasing numbers of Eritreans have undergone severe torture and abuse while being held hostage for months at a time in the Sinai. Human rights organizations have documented the brutality of traffickers in the Sinai.1 Eritrean asylum seekers have testified to gang rape of men and women, whipping, and various methods of torture, including burial in 45